A Pear-fect Time

The festival pays tribute to the pear orchard that once thrived where Santana Row’s glittery shops and hopping restaurants now stand.

This year, amateur chefs will be facing off in a new pear recipe challenge. Today is the last day for contestants to submit a written recipe and photo of their dish to the Santana Row Concierge Center. Five finalists will be pre-selected to tote their dishes to the festival (4 p.m. to 5 p.m.), where a panel of judges — including yours truly, the Food Gal — will judge them for taste, presentation, and originality.

The winning recipe will be posted on the Santana Row Web site. The grand prize winner will receive a $100 gift card to Consuelo Mexican Bistro and a Santana Row shopping spree. The winner also will get a signed copy of“Giada’s Kitchen” (Clarkson Potter), the new cookbook by Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis.

Yes, the ever-popular De Laurentiis will do a Q&A at noon that day in Santana Row Park, then a book-signing afterwards at Sur La Table. Reserve your spot and a copy of the book by calling Sur La Table at (408) 244-4749.

For more pear deliciousness, chefs from some of Santana Row’s and the South Bay’s most celebrated restaurants will conduct free cooking demos of pear dishes. The demos will be at 10:30 a.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m.

From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., more than 20 Bay Area wineries will be pouring tastes. Twenty bucks will get you six tastes and a souvenir glass.

Additionally, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., representatives of G Bar G Ranch of Kelseyville will be on hand to talk about the varieties of pears they grow.

5 comments

I just posted a recipe for Sake-poached Asian pears on our blog. I was originally intending to enter it in the Pear Challenge but decided not to. I didn’t want to inflict a strange recipe on the judges. But knowing at least one has an Asian palate makes me think, “I coulda been a contender!” LOL

It’s not a strange recipe. I think Jesse Cool has a recipe in her newest book for poached pears that either have sake or shiso or candied ginger in it (or all three), if memory serves me. Hey, it’s not too late. You can race down to Santana Row right now and still enter it.

I must say that judging the pear recipe contest was a delicious experience. The dishes were quite inventive. The grand prize winner was Raquel Perez for her wonderful Sweet & Spicy Pear Salad that had a great range of textures and flavors. You can find her winning recipe and the other four recipe finalists on the Santana Row Web site:http://www.santanarow.com/events/item/download_winning_pear_recipe/